Carlos Alcaraz said Thursday he had no time to celebrate becoming the China Open champion thanks to the gruelling tennis schedule, rushing straight from the stadium to catch a flight to the ongoing Shanghai Masters. 

Alcaraz defeated World No.1 Jannik Sinner over the course of a draining three hours and 21 minutes on Wednesday night in Beijing, but by noon the next day was already at a press conference in Shanghai. The 21-year-old has previously said that the men’s tennis schedule is “going to kill us”, and that “we have to do something about it”, but on Thursday seemed to rein in his criticism. “The tennis schedule is so, so tight, we’re travelling from tournament to tournament with just one or two days before the tournament begins, so it is difficult, but we have to get used to it,” the Spaniard said.